Religious Perspective
As the decision regarding whether or not to legalize Euthanasia from a medical perspective involves religious concerns, looking at religious beliefs play a significant part in the decision making as well. The three largest religious groups, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, all have distinct viewpoints on the execution of Euthanasia.
In Christianity, the issue of Euthanasia is clearly addressed. The Bible states that God and nobody else appoints people to die. (Job 33:4). Therefore, passive Euthanasia is seen as an attempt of a doctor to deny God his sovereign right to judge over life and death. Active Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, is clearly addressed in the Bible. In the book of Job, Job is in great
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The focus in Hinduism lays on the consequences of one’s actions. Hindus believe in the concept of “Karma”, which makes Hindus believe in reincarnation of the soul through many lives that do not necessarily have to be human. The ultimate goal is to achieve “moksha” which is the liberation of the cycle of death and rebirth (Nimbalkar). Euthanasia describes the concept of assisted suicide, which contradicts with the idea of karma. Killing interferes with the killed soul’s process towards liberation. Additionally, it is believed that it brings bad karma to the killer because there is a principle of nonviolence in Hinduism. Therefore, a conscious death is the ideal way for a Hindu to end his life which is a condition that is not provided when Euthanasia is performed. However, there is a concept called “Prayopavesa” in Hinduism which means “fasting to death” Hindu law lays down conditions for “Prayopavesa” when “death appears imminent or the condition is so bad that life’s pleasures are nil” (Subramuniyaswami). In India, passive Euthanasia is legalized. That means that withdrawing life support is legal, even though one may argue it contradicts HIndu philosophy. However, in this case, according to the Indian newspaper the Hindu, withdrawing life support means withdrawing of nutrition, which fits under the umbrella of “Prayopavesa” (“India